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Everett Ferguson, a Protestant elder, biblical scholar, and Church historian, has written what’s perhaps the definitive work on the subject, Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries. Ferguson spends hundreds of pages carefully combing through the evidence to expose the first five hundred years’ worth of Christians thought about baptism.His findings are neatly summarized on page 854: Although in developing the doctrine of baptism differe …

Faced with such a dire time of tribulation, Christians have wondered whether they will have to live through it. The historic answer, for both Catholics and Protestants, is that we will. Jesus warned us we would have to face persecution (John 15:20).  However, in the nineteenth century, dispensationalists began teaching that Christians will not have to face this trial. Instead, before the great tribulation begins, they will be caught up to heaven and spared the …

Finding the gospel of Jesus Christ reflected in Mary may help us pursue the unity of spirit and mind that Paul sought: Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that . . . I may hear of you that you stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents (Phil. 1:27-28). Side by side, of one mind and spirit, let us fight for the Faith against all opposition, testing the spirit of Marian doctr …

My teens always looked forward to the homilies of a particular priest, because he made the truths of Catholicism exciting and substantial. He inspired us to think about our Faith, and one way he did that was through a simple piece of philosophy. He said, “If we want to know what is real and true, we must always ask, ‘What is the nature of a thing?’” Another way to put it would be, “What is this thing and what is it made for?” These questions unlock the force …

“What you people do is child abuse! You should be ashamed of yourselves!” a woman screamed at me while I was engaged in evangelism at a college campus.  I was genuinely confused so I asked her, “What exactly should I be ashamed of?” She fired back, “Hell! Telling little children they might go to hell traumatizes them!”  I’ll admit this scares me! It’s almost too difficult to imagine the possibility of being in agony not just for a while, …